Killarney’s Europe Hotel plans €3m staff accommodation block

The block will accompany the existing accommodation catering for 70 employees

An artists impression of the new staff accommodation being planned for the Europe Hotel and Resort in Killarney, Co Kerry.

The five-star Europe Hotel and Resort in Killarney, Co Kerry, is planning to build 40 staff bedrooms at a cost of €3 million.

Killarney Hotels, the group behind the hotel which also owns the Dunloe Hotel, said it will build four staff accommodation blocks each containing 10 bedrooms and living quarters. Additionally, the facility will have a gym and laundry facilities for the staff.

The new accommodation blocks will accompany the existing accommodation facility which caters for 70 of the hotel’s employees.

Griffin Brothers Construction, based in Castleisland, Co Kerry, will begin construction next month with the opening planned for August 2018.

“With shortage of rental accommodation on offer in Killarney, we realise the difficulty that this causes to our employees from outside of the region,” said Michael Brennan, the director of Killarney Hotels.

The wider group is also in the midst of an “extensive renovation” project of the restaurant, bar, reception and public areas of the Dunloe Hotel, which is scheduled to re-open in April this year.

The investment comes after Ashford Castle Hotel in Cong, Co Mayo , announced in October that it planned to build a staff accommodation block with 45 rooms for between €1.5 million and €2 million. The Red Carnation hotel said it was building a staff block because of the challenges “recruiting and retaining talented staff”.